One Last Shot
by NCISBONESgirl
Summary: Castle decides to admit his feelings to Beckett, and subtlety is not his path of choice. Song is. One shot, song fic to Beyonce's "Ave Maria". Caskett.


**I know I should be working on another chapter of "Secrets, Lies and Other TellTale Signs", but this one came to me during a choir concert and I couldn't resist. **

**Synopsis: Castle decides to admit his feelings to Beckett, but subtlety is not his path of choice. Song is. **

**I really wanted to do a song fic with this tune, and I hope that it's not totally awful. I tried to make it believable.**

**The song is _Ave Maria_ by Beyonce.**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Castle, or Beyonce, or anything associated with them. _**

**If I did own Castle, I would have already seen the finale. :P **

_**Enjoy(:**_

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><p>"You're creepin' my creep, Castle." Beckett said, not glancing up from her paperwork.<p>

Castle was standing – not sitting in his usual chair – leaning against the doorframe. His eyes were narrowed in concentration as he watched her work.

It's a good possibility that this wouldn't have been as strange if the famous Richard Castle had been speaking. Instead, he stayed perfectly silent; brow furrowed, careful concentration etched into his features.

After 10 more minutes of this, Beckett couldn't take any more. "Castle! Seriously! Stop!" She snapped, slamming her current file on her desk.

Her display didn't faze Castle. He instead shifted his weight to his other side, softened his face, and parted his lips slightly, a half-smile now gracing his features.

Confused and able to see the metaphorical wheels turning in his head, Beckett shifted her jaw and looked left and right. "What?" she asked quietly.

Castle waited a beat before responding. "Let's get out of here." He said finally, his blue eyes lit up and shining with excitement. "Let me take you back to my place, I'll cook you dinner."

Beckett analyzed Castle, as if trying to sort out his intentions. "No thanks."

He frowned and pouted a bit, slumping back against the steel frame.

"I'm busy here." She explained, immediately feeling quite guilty. "And I'm tired."

This excuse might have worked if Castle, ever observant, hadn't heard something just then. "Your stomach just growled." He said, smirking.

Beckett opened her mouth, and then closed it. "No it didn't." She mumbled, breaking eye contact and going back to her file.

"That wasn't even a growl," Castle mused. "That was the roar of your stomach eating itself."

Beckett simply stared at him, unable to come up with a retort.

"C'mon." Castle urged softly, seizing the opportunity. "You don't have anything to do right now, all this paperwork can wait for tomorrow, your shift has technically been over for an hour, and you're hungry."

Beckett bit her lip and glanced around the room. He was right. Just like always.

"Kate." He said, bringing her attention back to him. "We both know that when you go home you're just going to heat up some awful T.V. dinner and wish you had agreed to come with me. So, please?"

Beckett sighed. He really had to stop being right so much. She ran a hand through her hair. "Alright." She resigned. "Fine."

Castle perked back up. "I'll go get your coat!" he said, practically dancing over to the coat rack.

As Beckett flicked off her desk lamp and locked away her files, she couldn't help but smile in spite of herself. She'd be damned if she would ever admit it, but his smile and his enthusiasm were contagious.

He strolled back over to her desk. "Here you go." he said, helping her shrug into her jacket. "Ready?" He asked.

Beckett nodded. "Ready." she said, offering a genuine smile.

Castle offered her his arm, and she looped hers through. Together, they walked out of the precinct.

One cab ride, a few detours, and one good meal later, Castle and Beckett were seated on his couch with a glass of wine each, laughing.

It felt so _good_ to Beckett, just being with him like this. Free of the pressure of being a cop, if only for tonight. She had watched him cook, listening to him tell her stories of odd things that had happened at ritzy parties, and she had been smiling at the simplicity of the moment.

Their conversation – held over what was admittedly delicious Italian food – had been light, and noncommittal. Airy and funny and exactly what Beckett needed. She couldn't remember the last time she had laughed so much in one night.

To Castle, the night had gone exactly to plan. Beckett was happy and smiling. Exactly the mood he needed her in. _Yes,_ he thought to himself. _It's now or never. _

When he came out of his own head, he found that Beckett was now gracefully arching an eyebrow at him, looking quite amused.

"What?" He asked.

"You have that look again." Beckett stated.

"What look?" He asked innocently.

"The look that you had back at the precinct. Like there's a puzzle, but you can't quite figure out how to solve it. " She said, resting her head in her hand.

Castle smirked at how perfectly she described herself. He then sat up a little straighter. "Can I show you something?"

Beckett lifted her head, caught off-guard by the abrupt change of subject. "Um, yeah." She said, nodding. "Of course."

Castle grinned. "Great. Come with me." He said, grabbing her hand and beginning to walk.

Obediently, Beckett followed, intrigued as he led her to a room of his apartment that she had never seen before. It was a small and cozy room with two violins in the corner along with music sheets and stands that she could only assume belonged to Alexis.

The thing she couldn't place was of course the very thing that Castle led her to – a grand piano, glossy and black, that sat in the center of the room.

Castle took a seat at the padded bench and patted the seat next to him.

Beckett (who had just now let go of Castle's hand, realizing with a start how natural it felt) stayed put. Her eyebrow rose again. "You play the piano?"

Castle looked smug, proud that he too could keep a secret. "Oh so many layers to the Castle onion, however will you peel them all?"

Beckett tried and failed not to smile. "That sounds familiar."

"Funny, that." He said with a wink.

"I'm glad someone takes in what I say." She replied.

Castle smiled at her. "Always."

And that was all it took. Wordlessly, Beckett crossed the room and took the offered seat, unsure of where he was going with this.

Castle poised his hands on the keys, and began playing a delicate melody. "Just promise me something will you?"

Beckett nodded. "Anything.

"Promise me that you'll really listen to these words, alright?" Castle's blue eyes found Beckett's green.

Once again, Beckett nodded.

Castle took a deep breath. _Here goes nothing. _In his deep but soft voice, he began to sing.

And to Beckett's surprise, he took her breath away.

"She was lost in so many different ways, out in the darkness with no guide. I know the cost of a losing hand. Never for the grace of God." He looked over at Beckett, as if to make sure she was listening.

Which she was. Lips parted, eyes wide, every bit of her attention was on the man next to her as the lyrics he was singing crashed down around her, sinking in quickly.

"Oh I…" Castle took another deep breath, preparing himself for finally saying how he felt about her. "I found Heaven on Earth, you are my last my first, and then I hear this voice inside…Ave Maria."

Beckett's mind was reeling.

Castle continued on. "I've been alone when I'm surrounded by friend. How could the silence be so loud? But I still go home knowing that I've got you. There's only us when the lights go down."

He crescendoed a bit, smiling and growing bolder. This was his only chance to lay it out on the table. "You are my Heaven on Earth. You are my hunger, my thirst. I always hear this voice inside. Singing Ave Maria."

"Castle. Stop." Beckett whispered, panic showing ever so slightly in her face.

"Nope." Castle shook his head. "I'm not done yet." He said, locking eyes with her once more before he continued. "Sometimes love can come and pass you by while you're busy making plans. Suddenly hit you and you realize it's out of your hands. Baby, you gotta understand…you are my Heaven on Earth. You are my last, my first, and then I hear this voice inside, Ave Maria." He finished softly.

Beckett looked away from his intense gaze and down at her hands.

Castle watched her for a few minutes, trying to gauge a reaction, fearing that he scared her. "Say something?" He finally pleaded quietly.

"Wow." Was the best Beckett could come up with.

"'Wow I just won the lottery' or 'wow a tornado just took my house'?" Castle asked.

Beckett simply shook her head, unsure of which it was.

"Right." Castle said, looking crestfallen as his heart dropped into his feet. "I'll go get your coat." He said for a second time that night.

When he returned, coat in hand, she hadn't moved. He swallowed hard, cursing himself. "I um, I called you a cab. It should be here soon. And here's your coat." He said, walking forward and sliding the coat across the table, making sure to give her plenty of space, then retreating to his previous position.

Beckett grabbed the coat and placed it in her lap, smoothing the fabric on the collar, staying firmly rooted to the chair. After what seemed like hours, she looked at him for the first time. "You're just going to kick me out just like that Castle?" she croaked.

Castle looked surprised. "Well, I mean, y-you certainly don't have to if you don't want to. You can stay forever if you want to."

Beckett raised an eyebrow once more.

Castle shook his head. "I'm sorry…" he said. "I just…I like you. A lot. More than a partner or a friend." He hesitated. "Most of the time, I think I'm in love with you."

Beckett remained silent, watching him.

"I'm sorry, I'm verbally incontinent." Castle said quickly, unnerved.

Beckett stood, abandoning her coat on the floor, and crossed the room in just a few strides. She stood closer than she usually did, and searched his face. "Did you mean all of that?"

Castle nodded.

"The song too?"

"Kate, listen to me. I know you. Better than anyone else. And I know that you've never really let yourself go. And I know that I love you. And I know that you're not happy, and that I'd like to fix that. We'd be great together." He said. "You just have to give us a chance, and stop running from me. That's why I got your coat. I thought you were going to want to leave."

Beckett slipped her arms around his neck, and smiled at his shocked expression, and the arms that were wrapping, almost timidly, around her waist. She lightly pressed her forehead against his, their noses barely touching. "You're really working that writer's vocabulary aren't you?"

"I'm really trying to." He admitted.

"Stop talking, Castle." She whispered, closing her eyes.

"Yes ma'am." Castle whispered back.

Beckett smiled wider and grazed his lips with hers before pressing ever so lightly on them. "If I'm honest…"

"And I'd hope you would be." Castle murmured.

"If I'm honest, I love you too."

Castle's face lit up once more, and he brought one of his hands from her hip to her face, and kissed her again.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it, and I promise a new chapter of my regular story will be up by Monday. <strong>

**Reviews make me smile! **


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